It was a childhood spent swimming in dams and playing in paddocks in rural Queensland that developed Caitlyn’s passion for the environment. Add in a love of fashion and an affinity for words and you’ve got a unique combination that led to pursuing her biggest passion, ethical fashion writing. But it wasn’t until Caitlyn was studying a fashion and creative writing degree in her early 20s that she discovered this was an area of work she wanted to throw herself into. She was aware of some of the issues associated with the fashion industry, but a sustainable fashion subject opened her eyes to the negative impacts fashion could have on people and the planet. It was there she realised she could make a difference doing what she loved most.

 

Growing up with a fashion designer for a mum had its pitfalls; You had to watch for stray needles that found their way round the house and into places with heavy foot-traffic (or, you know, your pillow). But it had it’s upsides; by the age of ten developing the mundane superpower of spotting a silk cotton blend from ten metres away. It also grew a life-long love of creative sartorial expression in Gabi. Aside from that, she has an interest in arranging words into sentences which pushed her to study creative writing, which she’s currently doing at snail’s pace at UTS. Gabi cares deeply about protecting the Earth we’ve been entrusted with, and treating every human on it with dignity. She combines her passion for all these things to bring you articles focussed on how you can be ethical and sustainable in your fashion choices without exclusively wearing undyed hemp made from your own marijuana plot.

Growing up on the ocean and always holding a deep love of quiet time in nature, Hanna, has journeyed her way through trying to unpack how norms and systems have made such a destructive impact on our planet. Her early career was established through health, community development and business roles in Cambodia, rural Australia, and The USA, leading consistently to her belief in the ability of kind business to create a pathway for community growth.

While establishing her company, Dorsu, she has placed deep focus on slow, fair and safe production to create positive change within the global fashion industry. Building a business is hard enough, but, growing an ethical fashion company in a developing country on limited resources is next-level. Hanna deeply believes that connecting people to the complexities of the truth behind their clothing will empower them immediately and impact the global garment industry for the better, and has joined the EME community to bring you along on that journey.

In a previous life, Megan travelled the world as a cruise ship dancer and a Bollywood extra. During this time she was an unashamed shopaholic, frequenting high street brands in every country she visited.

Megan returned to Melbourne to study which led her to reexamine her relationship with fashion and allowed her the opportunity to deep dive into the impacts of the industry. In 2016, she and her friend Gab trekked 3500km across Southeast Asia, as part of a project called Walk Sew Good, to learn from and share the stories of people creating fashion in positive and sustainable ways. It was a humbling experience that opened her eyes to the skills, talent and heart that often go into making our clothes.

After writing an article imploring people not to start their own ethical fashion brand, Megan did just that. She founded HUMIFORM to create clothing with purpose and engage young people in the ethical fashion process. Megan is ready to challenge and disrupt the system and is excited to do this as part of the team at EME.

Em always had a love for animals and the world, and lived a pretty sustainable life - or so she thought. But it wasn’t until spending her early years as a hairdresser working for one of Melbourne’s top - and least ethical - salons that her eyes were opened to just how much needed to change. Finding herself hitting her head against a brick wall trying to make a difference from within, she went on the hunt for something better. Then she found Bob - a vegan, zero-waste and low-toxic salon that cares about making good choices, and shares her passion for creating beautiful hair without harming the Earth.  Years of informative conversations surrounding sustainability inside, and outside of the hair industry have made her more considerate of living ethically in all aspects of life.

A dual passion for putting scissors to hair and pen to paper (or keyboard stroke to word document) led Em here - educating the EME community about reaching the #hairgoals of your dreams, whilst caring about health. Yours, and the planets. She promises a good hair day feels, and looks so much better when it’s achieved consciously.

Rewind the clock, Marnie and her family seemed to have it all. The careers, the home, nice cars, great holidays - yet when you looked a little closer, it was a life spent living up to the Jones'; superficial and busy. It took a health scare to put things into perspective. After realising that happiness wasn't in the typical Australian dream, they simplified their life by living with fewer belongings and taking a simpler approach to their lifestyle. They realised that they were in control of their happiness. Fast forward to today. Marnie lives in a 32 sqm tiny haus with her husband and two daughters. Living with less yet living with a life of more.

Out of Marnie's lifestyle changes evolved Tiny Haus lifestyle, where she shows us that everyone can live this lifestyle. Reducing their footprint and mindful of what we allow in our lives to live a life of true happiness.